ally
interested in the affairs of Taswell Skaggs and John Wyckholme, events
of a most unusual character were happening to one who not only had no
interest in the aforesaid heritage, but no knowledge whatever of its
existence. The excitement attending the Skaggs-Wyckholme revelations had
not yet spread to the Grand Duchy of Rapp-Thorberg, apparently lost as
it was in the cluster of small units which went to make up a certain
empire: one of the world powers. The Grand Duke Michael disdained the
world at large; he had but little in common with anything that moved
beyond the confines of his narrow domain. His court was sleepy,
lackadaisical, unemotional, impregnable to the taunts of progression;
his people were thrifty, stolid and absolutely stationary in their
loyalty to the ancient traditions of the duchy; his army was a mere
matter of taxation and not a thing of pomp or necessity. Four times a
year he inspected the troops, and just as many times in the year were
the troops obliged to devote themselves to rigorous display. The rest of
the time was spent in social intrigue and whistling for the war-clouds
that never came.

The precise location of the Grand Duchy in the map of the world has
little or nothing to do with this narrative; indeed, were it not for the
fact that the Grand Duke possessed a charming and most desirable
daughter, the Thorberg dynasty would not be mentioned at all. For that
matter, it is brought to light briefly for the sole purpose of
identifying the young lady in question, and the still more urgent desire
to connect her past with her future--for which we have, perhaps
intemperately, an especial consideration. It is only necessary,
therefore, for us to step into and out of the Grand Duchy without the
procrastination usual in a sojourner, stopping long enough only to see
how tiresome it would be to stay, and to wonder why any one remained who
could get away. Not that the Grand Duchy was an utterly undesirable
place, but that too much time already had been wasted there by the
populace itself.

It has been said that events of a most unusual character were happening;
any event that roused the people from their daily stolidity was
sufficiently unusual to suggest the superlative. The Grand Duke's peace
of mind had been severely disturbed--so severely, in fact, that he was
transferring his troubles to the Emperor, who, in turn, felt obliged to
communicate with the United States Ambassador, and who, in his